Native American Rights, Federal Government Plenary Power and Land Takin

Native American Rights, Federal Government Plenary Power and Land Takings Abstract Native Americans are entitled to the same Constitutional protections that guard other citizens from federal government infringement. Plenary power and the accompanying seizure and use of indigenous land bases have violated the rights of Native Americans and demonstrated the inability of the federal government to manage Indian affairs. The United States should give ownership and control of original, non-privately owned land bases back to tribes. This course of action would end treaty violation, compensate tribes for land takings, prevent bureaucrats from implementing policies that obstruct the ability of Native Americans to participate in their religion, and prevent the serious cultural loss that may occur if the government continues to use Native American land for self-interested purposes. Although the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 formally made Native Americans United States citizens, Native Americans currently lack the legal protection that guards other citizens from federal domination (Custo and Henry X). The core democratic concepts of "fairness, justice, and consent of the governed" have not yet been fully realized for tribal people, despite their citizenship (Wilkins 20). As stated by Helen Hunt Jackson, a noted author and social reformer, treatment of Native Americans has "outraged principles of justice" (Custo and Henry 40). Native Americans, "wards" of the federal government, are locked "in a grossly inequitable, politically dependent relationship," in which governmental infringement and injustice are the norm. (Williams 27). The current policy of federal plenary power over Indian tribes and the confiscation and desecration of I... ...iverse. (21 Jan. 2001). Martin v. Waddell. 41 U.S. 367. U.S. Supreme Court. 1842. LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe. (21 Jan 2001). Northrup, Jim. Rez Road Follies. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation v. United States. 419 U.S. 901. No. 73-2062. U.S. Supreme Court. 1974. LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe. (20 Jan. 2001). Wilkins, David. American Indian Sovereignty and the U.S. Supreme Court: The Masking of Justice. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997. Wood, Mary. "Protecting the Attributes of Native Sovereignty: A New Trust Paradigm for Federal Actions Affecting Tribal Land and Resources." Utah Law Review (1995). LEXIS NEXIS Academic Universe. 8 Jan. 2001. Wunder, John. Retained by the People: A History of American Indians and the Bill of Rights. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.